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Jan Myrdal, son of the famous couple Alva and Gunnar Myrdal, was hated and loved during his long career. Journalist Åsa Linderborg, Aftonbladet’s former head of culture, refers to him several times in her recently published book The Year at 13 Months.
– He was a lover of life, which is a bit unusual for a Marxist. He was very influential for the generations of the 60s and 70s. Whatever one thought of him, he was referring to Myrdal, she says.
“How to open a window”
Ten years ago, the Jan Myrdal Society was founded in Varberg, which took over Jan Myrdal’s private library with 50,000 books, several of which are unique copies of the collection.
Arne Andersson, president of the Jan Myrdal Society, opened his eyes to the controversial debater when he was young.
– When I was a teenager and working in a workshop, I always wanted to ride my bike and buy Aftonbladet and read what Jan Myrdal had written, he says and continues:
– It was like opening a window to the world and breathing fresh air and good visibility. When I told Jan Myrdal, he said it was exactly how he thought it would be.
Acclaimed Author
Kulturnyheter’s literary critic Per Andersson agrees that Jan Myrdal was a talented writer.
– He was a fantastic writer. He wrote fresh and tough, and his lyrics feel intoxicating, he says.
Åsa Linderborg also praises him as a writer. Especially Jan Myrdal’s descriptions of his own life.
– I carry it with me as a writer. When he writes about his childhood, he’s absolutely great, she says.
Controversial
But in addition to successful fiction writing, Jan Myrdal also has a number of controversial statements in his luggage. As a highly influential radical left debater in Sweden during the 1960s and 1970s, he took a stand in favor of communist dictatorships, such as the Pol Pot government in Cambodia.
– He also defended the Maoist regime in China. It fills me with hugely conflicting feelings, says Per Andersson.
Hear your friend Lasse Diding remember Jan Myrdal in the clip above.
